Not On Ireland's Soil / Voters reject abortion at home as they reproach Fianna Fail

IN IRELAND THE MATTER OF CHOICE IS NOT SO MUCH one of whether to permit abortion as where to permit it. The country's blanket ban, last reaffirmed by voters in 1983, came under new scrutiny in March, when the Supreme Court allowed a 14-year-old rape victim to have her pregnancy medically terminated in Britain. In a three-part referendum, voters overwhelmingly decided to legalize that previously unlawful option by permitting women to travel abroad for abortions and obtain information about how to do so. But a constitutional amendment allowing abortions to be performed in Ireland in cases where a mother's life is threatened was roundly defeated because both pro-choice and antiabortion forces decided to oppose it.

In the general polling, the long-ruling Fianna Fail Party suffered its worst setback in 50 years, losing at least 10 of its 77 seats in the 166-member Dail, while the big winner was the Labour Party, which more than doubled its parliamentary roster. It remained unclear whether the new coalition government will be headed by Fianna Fail's Albert Reynolds, the current Prime Minister, or Labour's Dick Spring, now Ireland's most popular politician.